This blog on Texas education contains posts on accountability, testing, college readiness, dropouts, bilingual education, immigration, school finance, race, class, and gender issues with additional focus at the national level.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

University of Texas President Supports the DREAM Act

University of Texas President Supports the DREAM Act as President Obama visits UT Austin

Austin, TX -- University of Texas President William Powers is one of the newest university presidents who has made public his support for the DREAM Act. With President Obama's visit to UT, the University Leadership Initiative (ULI) hopes President Obama takes note of how the DREAM Act would help meet our nation's higher education goals.

Under the headline UT Support for the DREAM Act, President Bill Powers reiterates his support for the legislation and those it would benefit. President Powers stated:

"If Texas educates these young people, it should provide them with access to legal employment. At UT, we support the goal of our graduates having the opportunity to put their education to work on behalf of our state and our nation."

According to a recent report from the Migration Policy Institute 258,000 individuals in Texas would benefit from the DREAM Act.

"We thank President Powers for his support of the legislation," said Julieta Garibay, a University of Texas alumnus & ULI Co-founder. "Every year, students who would benefit from the DREAM Act graduate from public universities in our state, including the University of Texas. We hope that our state's senators and congressional delegation are taking note of the overwhelming support."

Jose Torres from the University Leadership Initiative added, "The economic benefits of an increasingly educated labor force to our state will be significant. It's no wonder that this law boasts supports from business groups, institutions of education, conservatives, and liberals."

In 2001, the Texas legislature overwhelmingly approved legislation to allow certain undocumented students who met residency requirements pay in-state tuition rates at public universities. The legislation was signed into law by Governor Rick Perry. The DREAM Act shows bipartisan support in Congress.